Ignore moaning teachers! (Special Educational Needs Teacher)

Member Name: Vicki H

Product:	Special Educational Needs Teacher
Date:	17/09/01 (190 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Educating children!, Interesting., Can be a career

Disadvantages: Exhausting., Bad press given, Lots of paperwork.

I am sick and tired of hearing teachers moan, it is the one thing that the profession do really well! I hear them at it in the press and in the staff room, little wonder there is a shortage of new recruits they've all been put off. I am here to say don't be, the job is tough but the rewards are wonderful too!

I qualified four years ago now and the training was damn hard work. I had to have a rigorous interview to be selected which included Maths tests, English tests, I.T. tests, a group interview and an individual interview. Somehow I made the last 30 out of over 600 applicants. I had already gained my first degree so completed the Post Graduate Certificate in Education which is a one year course. It was very intense and I felt as though I was thrown into the classroom without any preparation.

I was sent to two schools from hell during my training. One was a multicultural school where English was very much the second language. I felt very isolated here as I was totally unable to communicate with most of the children and parents and some of the staff. But somehow I managed and came away with more confidence. The second school was dreadful! From day one I was left in the classroom by myself with 30 highly disruptive kids. The children used to play on the school roof at break time which the staff accepted. They swore and hit the teaching staff and parents often turned up in the classroom drunk and abusive. I used to be physically sick every single day at the thought of going there. The class teacher didn't offer me any support, she was too busy hiding away so she didn't have to teach the little darlings.

How I survived all this I will never know. I didn't want to become a teacher any more after my training but thank God I changed my mind.

I have worked with special needs children since I was 15 and knew throughout that this was where I belonged. I applied for several jobs and was finally lucky
enough to get one at a wonderful school nearby. It is quite unusual for a newly qualified teacher to gain such a position although at the moment schools are desperate for any teachers so always apply if you fancy it.

The school where I work is for children with physical and associated learning difficulties. It is a joy to go to work in the morning as the children are such a pleasure to work with. This job is not about entertaining it really is teaching.

We follow the National Curriculum as in any school. In fact it is more difficult as you have to adapt it to the children's needs. Often I spend hours making resources so that the children can access the work. Many cannot write and use symbols to record.

The teaching goes way beyond the school curriculum, there is also the teaching of indepence targets. I take the children out into the community in the hope that I can teach them to interact as fully as possible.

The school day and holidays are exactly the same as in mainstream school. The demands on you are also the same. You still have marking, planning and record keeping. Many people think I am just an entertainer but I am truly an educator.

The job is fascinating there is so much to learn. You need to use sign language sometimes and then there is the medical side of things. You have to learn about all the different conditions and the implications that these have on each child. You need to meet the Doctors and medical staff and build up a good relationship. Then there are the Speech Therapists and the Occupational Therapists. Physios, Medical Physics, Social Workers, Psychologists - the list is endless!

The children are draining it has to be said. I feel like I am on stage for 5 hours a day performing to the best of my ability to gain their attention and make a break through. Physically it is exhausting too, many children need lifting and toileting. Emotionally you must be strong.
For many of these children do not live to see adulthood. Some days I wonder why I am shoving the National Curriculum at them - shouldn't they be out enjoying themselves? But they are enjoying themselves at school - they love it! School gives them a sense of normality to cling to.

Laughter is so important otherwise you would get very down in this job. You must not take things too seriously. I have been working on number 1 and 2 for 3 years now with some children and they still can't recognise them. Rather than getting depressed I think of new ways of presenting the work - this is a challenge in itself. Then if it fails I have a little smile before I set myself off again on the mission of teaching.

In the last few days in the press I have read criticism of the long holidays given to teachers. From a personal point of view I would not be able to do this job without the breaks. I am totally on my knees by the end of term, there is just no let up in the job at all if you do it properly.

I arrive at work at 7:45am and don't leave until 5:00pm. I work through my dinner and don't have any breaks as I supervise the children. This weekend I have worked all Saturday evening writing reports and spent Sunday afternoon planning next weeks lessons. Teaching is with you 24 hours a day! Even at the supermarket I buy juice for the children and biscuits. On shopping trips I spend time looking for resources and always buy them out of my own pocket. I do all this because I love what I do but it does make me angry when I see the bad press teachers get.

I study for qualifications in my own time after work. There are endless possibilites for study if that is what you enjoy and they will help you to progress up the career ladder too.

I love being with the children. I love teaching them and I love seeing them achieve the smallest of targets. I am very, very lucky to be a teacher and hope you may consider it too.


Thanks for reading.

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